Former Tibetan political prisoner Golog Jigme meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on July 26, 2018 at the U.S. Department of State, in Washington, D.C. Photo: TPI

President Dr Lobsang Sangay with the Thank You India Souvenir – A Dharmachakra representing the wheel of Universal Truth, at the press conference at Press Club of India on January 18, 2018. Photo: CTA/DIIR/Tenzin Phende

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New Delhi — His Holiness the Dalai Lama may have been in Leh, Ladakh for his 82nd birthday but his well wishers arrived in scores to celebrate the life of the esteemed Buddhist teacher at the Tibet House, a cultural and spiritual Buddhist center in the Indian capital.

The festivities included an hour of interfaith prayers offered by learned representatives of India's major religions, an exhibition of photographs and paintings of the enthronement of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama and a small tea planting ceremony to commemorate the event. The ceremony began with a welcoming speech by Dorji Damdul, director of the Tibet House.

Prayers were offered by monks from Namdroling Monastery and the Ramakrishna Mission in New Delhi, Geshe Yeshe Thabke, Shri Ramesh Panpal of the Jain community and Ms Maria Khan, among others. His Holiness was universally praised for his wisdom and serenity, which is more needed now than ever in uncertain times.

His messages were likened to those of the Rishis of old and his soul was compared to that of the Mahatma. His rationality and positive outlook towards the sciences for its ability to alleviate human suffering were lauded as the reasons behind his almost universal popularity.

To celebrate his birthday, The Tibet House arranged for an exhibition of photos and paintings by the late Shri Kanwal Krishna, which now belong to the collection of Gustav Roth, Gottingen- Germany. The artist had the unique privilege of being a first hand witness of the enthronement ceremony of His Holiness in 1939 in Lhasa.

He recorded the everyday life of the Tibetan people through his sketches, photographs and watercolor paintings which today serve as a reminder of a world long gone following 5 decades of Chinese occupation. The artist's daughter, Smt. Mridula Krishna was the chief guest for the event and spoke about the lasting influence Tibet had on her father's life.